Method and system for facilitating the exchange of information between a vehicle and a remote location

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a system and method that includes a vehicle that exchanges information with the remote location by way of a communication network. A remote server transmits vehicle-related information to the vehicle by way of a communication system. Information may also be broadcast to and received by the vehicle by way of a broadcast communication system. A receiver of the vehicle provides user access to only a subset of the broadcast information based on user preferences of a user profile. The user may update the user profile by accessing and updating it at either the vehicle or by accessing a database. The user may access the database through a network, such as the Internet. The vehicle also selectively transmits vehicle-related information to the remote location when a predetermined event occurs. The vehicle-related information is compiled and analyzed at the remote location, and the analyzed information is transmitted back to the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,041,779, currentlyU.S. application Ser. No. 10/737,221, entitled “Method And System ForFacilitating The Exchange Of Information Between A Vehicle And A RemoteLocation,” filed on Dec. 15, 2003, and issued on Oct. 18, 2011, thecontents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entiretyinto this disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and system for providinginformation to vehicles from a remote location and for providing vehiclerelated information from a vehicle to the remote location.

2. Description of Related Art

The upkeep and maintenance of vehicles is essential to maintain avehicle in good running condition and to maintain the overall reputationof a vehicle manufacturer. For example, even if a vehicle malfunctionsor breaks down because of user neglect, as opposed to a vehicle defect,the reputation of the vehicle manufacturer will still be injured,especially if several vehicles malfunction because of user neglect.Thus, as users often neglect to regularly service their vehicles,upgrade their vehicles with improved replacement parts, and in somecases, even forget to replace recalled vehicle parts—it is important toremind users to service their vehicles.

Known methods to remind users are very inflexible, cumbersome andinefficient. In previous methods, vehicles were manufactured withwarning lights that are activated when an event occurs. For example,maintenance reminder lights and low oil level lights are activated toremind users to bring their car to a service provider. The lights areactivated only according to the time intervals and levels that wereoriginally preprogrammed into a memory of the vehicle. Thus, if aservice provider that a user often went to service his vehicledetermined that a new service schedule should be used that differed fromthe original preprogrammed schedule, he could not update the memory toincorporate the new schedule or it would be very difficult to do so.Likewise, if a user wanted to deactivate such reminders, the user couldnot do so without following an intricate set of steps, which usuallyrequired the assistance of a professional service provider to carry out.

Moreover, subsequent developments, such as car part recall notices orthe development of an improved part to be used in the vehicle, could notbe sent to the vehicle by using such previous methods. To inform usersof such developments, vehicle manufacturers and other service providerswere forced to resort to mailing product brochures and the like tousers. The process of mailing brochures is not only expensive, buttimely, cumbersome and inefficient.

Even if a user wished to bring in his car for service in response to awarning light or receiving an updated brochure, the user would berequired to locate the phone number of the service provider, contact theservice provider and schedule an appointment. The user would be forcedto schedule the appointment after he exited the vehicle because much ofthe information a user would need to make the appointment is typicallynot carried with the user. After exiting the vehicle, the user mayforget to schedule the appointment, despite the maintenance notificationlights.

Other known methods provide retail and sales information to a vehiclebased on a profile of the user, but such methods do not providevehicle-related information to a user. As a result, the other methods donot address the need to provide a convenient and flexible way to informthe user of service schedules, product recalls and other noticespertinent to the vehicle.

In addition, in known methods, users oftentimes observe thepreprogrammed notices but do not comprehend the significance of thenotices. In other words, users oftentimes do not understand whether theyshould bring the vehicle for service in response to the notice or whenthey should bring their vehicle in. Previous methods provided a two-waycalling mechanism for the user to place a call to a live operator whenthe notice appears. The live operator can then explain the significanceof the notice to the user. Other methods automatically send a message tothe live operator when an air bag of the vehicle deploys.

Such known methods, however, are very limited and inflexible. Forexample, users do not have the option to determine whether informationregarding the occurrence of an event should be transmittedautomatically, not transmitted or transmitted on a case-by-case basis toa remote location. In the prior art methods, users do not have theoption to automatically send information about the occurrence of mostevents to the remote location. Rather, the users must manually use thetwo-way calling mechanism to inform an operator that a notificationlight has been activated. As a result, the previous methods leave theuser with limited and inflexible ways to transmit information pertainingto vehicle problems to a remote location.

Other known methods have attempted to send general information toparticular vehicles, but have used very inefficient and inflexible waysto do so. For example, the known methods use one-to-one communicationsystems to individually send data streams to particular vehicles in anattempt to send vehicle specific data to a particular vehicle. Theproblem with these methods, however, is that many vehicles require thesame information. For example, several vehicles might require world ornational news information. The previous methods, therefore, require thetransmittal of the same information several times to a plurality ofvehicles, which results in a wastage of precious bandwidth.

Other methods involve the transmittal of the same information to allvehicles. The problem with these methods, however, is that many vehiclesare inundated with a large amount of unwanted information and the usersare required to sift through the unwanted information.

As a result, there remains a need for methods that allow for thetransmittal of vehicle-related information from a remote location to avehicle and that allow for the selective transmittal of vehicle relatedinformation from a vehicle to a remote location. There also remains aneed for an efficient method for sending vehicle specific information tovehicles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the shortcomings of the prior artsystems and methods. In particular, the present invention is directed toa system and method for facilitating the exchange of information betweena remote location and a vehicle.

Pursuant to a first aspect of the invention, a remote server transmitsvehicle-related information to the vehicle by way of a communicationsystem. The vehicle-related information includes, for example, timelymaintenance reminders, product updates and product recall notices.Sending the vehicle-related information to the vehicle provides timelynotification to the vehicle user of vehicle service needs and obviatesthe need to provide paper correspondence via the mail system orotherwise.

Pursuant to a second aspect of the invention, all types of information,including, but not limited to vehicle-related information, is broadcastto the vehicle over a one-to-many communication system, such as, abroadcast satellite communication system. The vehicle receives theinformation and provides user access to only a subset of the receivedinformation. The subset of information that the user is provided accessto depends on user specified options that are part of a user profile,which is stored in a vehicle information device (VID) at the vehicle. Inthis manner, bandwidth is preserved by broadcasting information thatseveral vehicle users desire only once but still ferreting out undesiredinformation at each vehicle.

In one embodiment, the user may update the user profile by accessing andupdating the user profile stored at the VID or by accessing the userprofile at the remote location, where it is also stored. The user mayaccess the user profile at the remote location by way of a network,which is the Internet in one embodiment, and then update the userprofile. The updated user profile is then saved at both the VID and theremote location. When the user profile is accessed at the VID, theupdated user profile is saved at the VID and transmitted and stored atthe remote location. When the user profile is accessed at the remotelocation, the updated user profile is saved at the remote location andtransmitted and stored at the VID.

By allowing the user to update the user profile, the user hasflexibility in the types of information, whether all types ofinformation or just vehicle-related information, he has access to at thevehicle. As a result, each vehicle user can be free of unwantedinformation that is transmitted and receive only desired information.

Pursuant to a third aspect of the invention, the vehicle selectivelytransmits vehicle-related information to the remote location when apredetermined event occurs, such as, a low oil level warning. Thepredetermined events that cause the selective transmittal of informationand whether the information is ever transmitted is based on userpreferences that are a part of the user profile. Thus, the user hasflexibility and control in determining the type of information that isshared with the remote location, and users need not be concerned aboutprivacy or other related issues regarding the transmittal of informationto the remote location.

Further, providing vehicle-related information to the remote locationallows the information from a plurality of vehicles to be compiled andanalyzed at the remote location. In one embodiment, the analyzedinformation is transmitted back to the vehicle to suggest to the vehicleuser what procedure to follow in light of the predetermined event. Inaddition, the compiled information may be analyzed at the remotelocation to determine the frequency of certain malfunctions and todetermine if engineering changes to the vehicle should be implemented toaddress the vehicle malfunctions.

In addition, instead of only sending one message as a result of only oneevent, a plurality of predetermined events may cause the selectivetransmittal of different types of information to the remote location. Asa result, the remote location receives more information about thecondition of a vehicle, allowing the remote location to better analyzethe condition of the vehicle. The remote location can thus better informthe user of the vehicle of the significance of the vehicle condition andcan better analyze vehicle malfunction trends in a plurality ofvehicles.

A more complete understanding of the system and method for facilitatingthe exchange of information between a remote location and a vehicle willbe afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization ofadditional advantages and objects thereof, by a consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment. Referencewill be made to the appended sheets of drawings which will first bedescribed briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a system pursuantto aspects of the invention;

FIG. 1 a is a schematic diagram of a vehicle information device (VID) incommunication with a mobile unit pursuant to aspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a method for transmitting information froma remote location to a vehicle pursuant to aspects of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a method for updating a user profilepursuant to aspects of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a method for scheduling a serviceappointment pursuant to aspects of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a method for transmitting information froma vehicle to a remote location pursuant to aspects of the invention;and,

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an alternate embodiment of a systempursuant to aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a system and method forfacilitating the exchange of information between a remote location and avehicle. In particular, the present invention is directed to a systemand method that includes a vehicle that exchanges information with theremote location by way of a communication network.

Pursuant to a first aspect of the invention, a remote server transmitsvehicle-related information to the vehicle by way of a communicationsystem. The vehicle-related information includes, for example, timelymaintenance reminders, product updates and product recall notices.Sending the vehicle-related information to the vehicle provides timelynotification to the vehicle user of vehicle service needs and obviatesthe need to provide paper correspondence.

Pursuant to a second aspect of the invention, information is broadcastedto and received by the vehicle. A vehicle information device (VID)provides user access to only a subset of the broadcast information basedon a user profile, which includes user preferences that indicate thetypes of information the user would like to have access to. Thus,instead of sending the same information at different bandwidths to aplurality of users that desire the same information, only a small amountof bandwidth is used. Specifically, a small amount of bandwidth is usedto broadcast the same information to all users, and the VID within thevehicle makes only a subset of the broadcasted information available tothe user based on the user profile.

Pursuant to a third aspect of the invention, the vehicle selectivelytransmits vehicle-related information to the remote location when apredetermined event occurs. The vehicle-related information includes,for example, information about service schedules or vehiclemalfunctions. Providing such vehicle-related information to the remotelocation allows the information from a plurality of vehicles to becompiled and analyzed at the remote location. The analyzed informationmay then be transmitted back to the vehicle to suggest to the vehicleuser what procedure to follow in light of the vehicle malfunction. Inaddition, the compiled information may be analyzed at the remotelocation to determine the frequency of certain malfunctions and todetermine if engineering changes to the vehicle should be implemented toaddress the vehicle malfunctions.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a system for facilitating theexchange of information between a remote location 10 and a vehicle 12pursuant to aspects of the invention. The vehicle 12 includes a vehicleinformation device (VID) 14, vehicle detection devices 16, and a mobileunit 18.

As shown in FIG. 1 a, the vehicle information device (VID) 14 includes aVID receiver 20, a VID transmitter 22, VID input 24 and output 26devices, a VID processor 28, and a VID memory 30 that are all inelectrical communication with one another. The VID memory 30 includes atleast a portion of the user profile and, in some embodiments, includesthe entire user profile. As is provided in greater detail below, theuser profile stored in the VID memory 30 may be updated in the vehicleby way of the VID input device 24, which includes at least one of akeyboard, a touch sensitive display and a microphone. The user profilemay also be updated by way of information received through the VIDreceiver 20.

The VID receiver 20 receives information from the remote location 10and, in one embodiment, is in communication with the remote location byway of a one-to-many communication system. One-to-many communicationsystems include systems that can send information from one source to aplurality of receivers, such as a broadcast network 31. Broadcastnetworks include television, radio and satellite networks. In oneembodiment, the broadcast network 31 is the XM Radio satellite network,which comprises broadcast towers, satellite servers and satellites. Theinformation received by the VID receiver 20 may be accessed by way ofthe VID output device 26, which includes at least one of a VID displayand a VID speaker. The VID receiver 20 and output device 26 provideaccess to only a subset of the received broadcasted information to theuser based on user preferences. The user preferences, as well as useridentity information and vehicle identity information, are part of theuser profile.

The vehicle also includes vehicle detection devices 16 that are incommunication with the VID 14. The vehicle detection devices 16 detectand monitor the levels and conditions of several vehicle parts. Forexample, one vehicle detection device 16 monitors the engine temperatureand another monitors the oil level. The vehicle detection devices 16send the monitored levels and conditions to the VID 14, which processesthe information by, for example, comparing the monitored levels againstthreshold levels stored in the VID memory 30.

In the first embodiment, the mobile unit 18 is used to receive andtransmit information from and to the remote location 10; and, in analternate embodiment shown in FIG. 6, an RF transceiver 652 is used toreceive and transmit information from and to the remote location 610.The mobile unit 18 may be a wireless phone or any other device thatcommunicates with other devices by way of the wireless communicationnetwork 46. As shown in FIG. 1 a, the mobile unit 18 includes a mobileunit receiver 32, a mobile unit transmitter 34, mobile unit input 36 andoutput 38 devices, a mobile unit processor 40, and a mobile unit memory42 that are in communication with one another. The mobile unit 18 is incommunication with the remote location 10 by way of the mobile unitreceiver 32, the mobile unit transmitter 34, and a wirelesscommunication network 46, which comprises numerous base stations. In oneembodiment, information is transmitted from or to the vehicle or remotelocation over a high bandwidth GPRS/1XRTT channel of the wirelesscommunication network 46. If the high bandwidth channel is unavailable,a low bandwidth DTMF channel is used. The mobile unit receiver 32receives information from the remote location 10, and the mobile unittransmitter 34 transmits information to the remote location 10. In otherembodiments described below in greater detail, the mobile unittransmitter 34 also transmits information to information providers 48,50.

In one embodiment, the information received from and transmitted to theremote location 10 by way of the mobile unit 18 is accessed by the userthrough the VID 14, which is in communication with the mobile unit. Themobile unit 18 may be embedded in the vehicle 12 and be in communicationwith the VID 14 by, for example, a cable.

In another embodiment the VID 14 and mobile unit 18 are in communicationwith one another by way of RF transceivers 52, 54. Both the VID 14 andthe mobile unit 18 include RF transceivers 52, 54, which, in oneembodiment, comply with the Bluetooth® wireless data communicationformat. The RF transceivers 52, 54 allow the VID 14 and mobile unit 18to communicate with one another. In other embodiments not shown, the VIDand mobile unit receivers 20, 32 and transmitters 22, 34 allow the VIDand mobile unit to communicate with one another. In yet otherembodiments, there may be an RF transceiver that is separate from theVID 14 and mobile unit 18 and that allows the VID and mobile unit tocommunicate with one another.

In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the VID 614 transmits andreceives information to and from the remote location 610 by way of theRF transceiver 652, access points 670, 672 and gateways 674, 676 thatare in communication with the network 662. In one embodiment, the RFtransceiver 652 and access points 670, 672 are compliant with the IEEE802.11 specification, and such transceivers and access points includeWi-Fi® certified equipment. The access points 670, 672 are typically incommunication with the gateways 674, 676 by way of a cable, and thegateways are in communication with the remote location 610 by way of thenetwork 662. The access points 670, 672 are in communication with the RFtransceiver 652 and have a limited range over which they can communicatewith the RF transceiver 652. Thus, it is preferable that there arenumerous access points 670, 672 positioned so that the distance betweenthe access points and the areas through which a vehicle 12 might pass isless than or equal to the limited range of the access points. When theaccess points 670, 672 are so positioned, the RF transceiver 652effectively exchanges information with the access points 670, 672 and,thus, the remote location 610.

Note that, in the alternate embodiment of FIG. 6, the VID 614 alsoincludes VID input and output devices, a VID receiver, a VID memory anda VID processor, none of which are shown. The VID components of thealternate VID embodiment 614 have the same functionality as do the VIDcomponents of the first embodiment 612.

The remote location 10, 610 includes a remote server 44, 644 a remotetransmitter 56, 656 and receiver 58, 658, and a remote memory 60, 660that are in communication with one another. As provided above, in thefirst embodiment, the remote transmitter and receiver 56, 58 communicatewith the VID 14 and mobile unit 18 by way of the broadcast 31 andwireless 46 communication networks, respectively; and, in the alternateembodiment, the remote transmitter and receiver 656, 658 communicatewith the VID 614, including the RF transceiver 652, by way of thebroadcast communication network 631 and a network 662. The remotelocation 10, 610 is also in communication with information providers 48,50, 648, 650 such as vehicle dealers, vehicle service providers andusers of the vehicles, by way of the network 62, 662.

In both the first and alternate embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, thenetwork 62, 662 is typically a wide area network (WAN) such as theInternet. In other embodiments, some of the information providers 48,50, 648, 650, such as the vehicle dealers and vehicle service providers,may be in communication with the remote location 10, 610 by way of alocal area network (LAN), while other information providers 48, 50, 648,650 such as the vehicle users, are in communication with the remotelocation by way of the Internet. In yet other embodiments, the RFtransceiver 652 is in communication with the remote location 610 and/orthe information providers 648, 650 by way of a network 662 that is anLAN. In these other embodiments, the LAN 662 is compliant with the IEEE802.3 specification or is an Ethernet network.

As provided in greater detail below, the information providers 48, 50,648, 650 may transmit updated user profiles and new vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location 10, 610. A plurality of user profilesare in a user profile database, which, along with other vehicle-relatedinformation, is stored in the remote memory 60, 660. The updated userprofiles and new vehicle-related information are transmitted from theremote location 10, 610 to the VID 14, 614 by way of the broadcastnetwork 31, 631. In other embodiments, the new vehicle-relatedinformation and updated user profiles may be transmitted to the vehicles12, 612 by way of the wireless network 46 or the network 662. At thevehicle, the user profile stored in the VID memory 30 is updated, andthe vehicle-related information is made accessible to the user by way ofthe VID output device 26. In other embodiments, the informationproviders may communicate directly with the mobile unit 18 or RFtransceiver 652 by way of the wireless communication network 46 or thenetwork 662.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of a method for facilitating theexchange of information between a remote location and a vehicle pursuantto aspects of the invention. At step 200, vehicle-related information isprepared. Vehicle-related information includes service-relatedinformation, vehicle-promotional information and user updateinformation, but does not include traffic-related information or retailinformation. Service related information includes information thatconcerns the upkeep and service of the vehicle, for example, vehiclemaintenance schedules, oil change reminders, service campaigns, productsfor the vehicle, suggestions on how to more effectively use vehiclefeatures, service recalls and car diagnosis surveys. Vehicle-promotionalinformation includes information that concerns the commercial termsunder which the vehicle was acquired, for example, new financingoptions, lease inspections or lease expirations.

Vehicle-related information is prepared by reviewing and updating thevehicle-related information that will be transmitted to the vehicles.Typically, an agent of the vehicle manufacturer reviews and updates thevehicle-related information and prepares a message. A supervisor reviewsthe agent's message prior to finalizing a message that will be broadcastto the VIDs 14, 614. For example, an agent may prepare a message showingthat a product used in the vehicle has been recalled and requesting theuser of the vehicle to bring the vehicle in for service so that therecalled part may be replaced. A supervisor reviews and finalizes themessage before it is transmitted to the vehicles 12, 612. Note that, inother embodiments, the message prepared by the agent is broadcastwithout supervisor review.

In addition, the vehicle-related information may be received at theremote location 10, 610 from one of the information providers 48, 50,648, 650, such as a vehicle service provider. Such vehicle-relatedinformation may include an updated maintenance schedule. The agentprepares a message reflecting the updated maintenance schedule, and thesupervisor reviews the message. As provided above, in other embodiments,there is no supervisor review of the message prepared by the agent. Inother embodiments, the information provider 48, 50, 648, 650 may sendinformation directly to the remote location and update thevehicle-related information directly, without intervention from theagent or the supervisor.

At step 205, the vehicle-related information to be transmitted isprocessed for broadcasting purposes. In one embodiment, thevehicle-related information is processed by filtering the informationbased on predetermined criteria and translating the information into atelemetry format. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that thereare several other ways to process the vehicle-related information.

At step 210, the vehicle-related information is transmitted to the VID14, 614 by way of the communication network. The timing of thetransmittal is based on a vehicle information transmittal schedule thatis stored in the remote memory 60, 660. In an alternate embodiment, thevehicle-related information is broadcast to a plurality of vehicles 12,612 by way of the broadcast network 31, 631. Note that, in the alternateembodiment, the remote location 10, 610 can broadcast several types ofinformation, including, but not limited to, vehicle-related information,to the vehicle 12, 612. As provided below, the VID receiver 20 and VIDoutput device 26 provide access to only a subset of the broadcastedinformation based on the user profile. At step 215, the vehicle-relatedinformation is received at the vehicle by either the VID receiver, VIDtransceiver, or mobile unit receiver 20, 652, 32. At step 220, the VID14, 614 provides access to only a subset of the received vehicle-relatedinformation to the user based on the user profile.

The user profile includes user preferences, vehicle identificationinformation and user information. Thus, if the user preferences are setto block a certain type of vehicle-related information, such as productupdates, such vehicle-related information cannot be accessed by the useruntil the user modifies the user preferences to permit access. The userprofile also can be used to control when the user will be providedaccess to the information. For example, the user may adjust the useroptions to only receive service maintenance update information atpredetermined times or frequencies.

Pursuant to the alternate embodiment, the same information that may bepertinent to a plurality of vehicles is not retransmitted, whichretransmission would waste precious bandwidth. Instead, all types ofinformation is broadcasted only once to a plurality of vehicles 12, 612from the remote location 10, 610 preserving a great deal of bandwidth.Meanwhile, each vehicle 12, 612 still provides user access only toinformation specific to the vehicle according to user preferences of theuser profile that is stored in the VID memory 30. As a result, bandwidthis preserved and the user is not exposed to unwanted information.

At step 225, it must be determined whether the received informationrequires a response. If a response is not required, the information mayeither be stored in the VID memory 30 or simply deleted after apredetermined time period 230. In some cases, the received informationmay modify vehicle-related information stored in the VID memory 30. Forexample, if a service provider changes the timing or pricing of avehicle service promotion, the new timing or pricing would modify theexisting timing or pricing of the service promotion stored in the VIDmemory 30. Providing such vehicle-related information to the vehicleprovides timely notification to the vehicle user of vehicle serviceneeds and obviates the need to provide paper correspondence via the mailsystem or otherwise.

If the received information does require a response 235, the user maychoose to either respond 240 or not respond 245 to the request. If theuser chooses to not respond to the request 245, the method returns tostep 215. If the user chooses to respond 240, he will typically eitherbe requested to update his user profile or schedule a serviceappointment 250.

FIG. 3 shows the steps followed to update the user profile. At step 300,the user accesses the user profile. The user may access the user profileby navigating screens on the VID display until the appropriate screenappears and entering a user login and password. The user may also accessthe user profile by accessing the user profile database at the remotelocation 10, 610 by way of the network 62, 662, in which case the useracts as an information provider 48, 50, 648, 650. In one embodiment, theuser uses a personal computer and the user login and password to accessthe user profile database by way of the Internet. The user typicallycontacts the remote location 10, 610 to obtain a user login and passwordand uses the login and password to gain access to the database.

Note that, if ownership of the vehicle has changed, the new owner (andthus new user) of the vehicle contacts the remote location 10, 610 toobtain a new user login and password. When notified about a change inownership, the old user preferences and identification information ofthe old user profile is typically deleted at the remote location and thenew user is advised to enter new user preference and identificationinformation into the user profile. In other embodiments, the old userpreferences may not be deleted and the new user may opt to keep the olduser's preferences.

At step 305, the user may update the user profile and change, forexample, user preferences and/or user identification information. Ifownership has changed, after accessing the user profile with the newuser login and password, the new user enters new user preferences and/oridentification information. If the old user's preferences were notdeleted, the new user may update the old user preferences to reflect thenew user's preferences as desired. Vehicle-identification information,such as the vehicle identification number, however, is typically notchanged. At step 310, the updated user profile, including new userpreferences and identification information, is saved at the VID memory30 or the remote memory 60, 660, wherever the user accessed the userprofile for updating purposes.

At step 315, the updated user profile is transmitted to a secondlocation. If the user profile was first accessed at the VID 14, 614, theupdated user profile is transmitted to the user profile database at theremote location 10, 610. If the user profile is first accessed at theuser profile database at the remote location 10, 610, the user profileis transmitted from the remote location to the vehicle 12, 612. At step320, the user profile is saved at the second location. If the userprofile was transmitted to the user profile database at the remotelocation 10, 610, the updated user profile would be saved at the userprofile database. If the updated user profile was transmitted to thevehicle 12, 612, the updated user profile would be saved at the VIDmemory 30.

FIG. 4 shows the steps followed to schedule a service appointment. Atstep 400, the user chooses to schedule the service appointment manuallyor through the remote server 44, 644. If the user chooses to manuallyschedule the service appointment 405, the user may contact the serviceprovider (which may also be an information provider 48, 50, 648, 650)and schedule a date and time for the appointment. The user typicallyuses the mobile unit 18 or the VID 614 that includes the RF transceiver652 to manually schedule such an appointment.

If the user chooses to schedule the appointment through the remoteserver 44, 644, the user may transmit desired service appointmentinformation to the remote server 410. The desired service appointmentinformation includes, for example, the name, address and phone number ofa preferred service provider 48, 50, 648, 650 and the time and day ofthe week that the user desires the appointment. In one embodiment, thedesired service appointment information may be stored in the VID memory30 and sent to the remote server 44, 644 when the user responds that hewould like to schedule the appointment via the remote server. The usercan also modify the desired service appointment information by updatingthe user profile and sending the modified desired service appointmentinformation to the remote server 44, 644.

The remote server 44, 644 contacts the preferred service provider 48,50, 648, 650 and attempts to schedule an appointment for the user 415according to the desired service appointment information. If the desiredtime and date are unavailable, the remote server 44, 644 contacts theuser and requests the user to provide additional desired serviceappointment information, such as an alternate date and time or analternate dealer. The additional desired service appointment informationmay also be stored as part of the user profile at the VID memory 30 andsent to the remote server 44, 644 when the user is prompted for suchinformation. The remote server 44, 644 schedules the appointment withthe service provider and transmits an appropriate message to the user.Note that the user typically communicates with the remote location 10,610 and the service provider 48, 50, 648, 650 by the mobile unit 18 andwireless network 46 or the RF transceiver 652 and the network 662. Theremote location 10 typically communicates with the user by way of theVID 14, 614 and broadcast network 31, 631, the mobile unit 18 andwireless network 46 and/or the RF transceiver 652 and the network 662.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of a method for facilitating theexchange of information between a remote location 10 and a vehicle 12pursuant to aspects of the invention. At step 500, a predetermined eventoccurs, and at step 505, vehicle-related information is selectivelytransmitted from the vehicle 12, 612 to the remote location 10, 610after the occurrence of the predetermined event. The types ofpredetermined events that cause the selective transmittal of informationto the remote location 10, 610 are identified in the user profile, whichis stored in the VID memory 30. For example, the oil level droppingbelow a predetermined oil level threshold may be one predeterminedevent, and the oil level threshold may be stored in the user profile.Vehicle detection devices 16, 616 constantly monitor the oil level andreport the oil level to the VID processor 28, which compares themonitored oil level to the oil level threshold.

If the oil level drops below the oil level threshold, a warning lightmay appear and, based on other user preferences, a low oil levelnotification is selectively transmitted to the remote location. The userpreferences of the user profile may be set to determine what types ofvehicle-related information may be transmitted to the remote location 10after a predetermined event occurs. Further, the user preferences maydetermine whether the information is sent. For example, the userpreferences may be set so that the information is automatically sent tothe remote location 10, 610 upon the occurrence of an event, so that theinformation is not sent even if the event occurs or so that the user isprompted to transmit the information when the event occurs. If the useris prompted to transmit the information, the user may either choose totransmit the information to the remote location or choose not totransmit the information.

Permitting the user to select which predetermined events cause aselective transmittal of information and permitting the user todetermine when to send vehicle-related information affords the userflexibility and control over the information that is shared with theremote location. Thus, by using the present invention, users need not beconcerned about privacy or other related issues regarding thetransmittal of information to the remote location 10, 610.

Note that, in other embodiments, the user may selectively transmit somevehicle-related information when a predetermined event occurs; but, topromote user safety, the vehicle manufacture may set other options thatrequire the automatic transmittal of predetermined vehicle-relatedinformation upon the occurrence of predetermined events, regardless ofuser preferences. For example, if vehicle detection devices sense thatthe tire pressure dropped suddenly while the vehicle is moving at highspeeds, a sudden tire pressure drop notification may automatically besent to the remote location. An agent at the remote location may contactthe vehicle user to determine if the user requires assistance.

At step 510, the vehicle-related information that is transmitted to theremote location 10, 610 is analyzed. The remote server 44, 644 analyzesthe information and, in one embodiment, stores the analyzed informationto the remote memory 60, 660. Information from a plurality of vehiclesmay be stored in the remote memory 60, 660, and the stored informationmay be further analyzed to determine trends in vehicle malfunctions. Thetrends may indicate whether engineering changes are necessary to thevehicle 12, 612.

At step 515, the analyzed information may be transmitted back to thevehicle 12, 612, advising the user about the significance of thepredetermined event, which can include, for example, low oil levels. Ifnecessary, the user may opt to schedule a service appointment with aservice provider, as provided in FIG. 4.

Instead of relying on only one event, such as an air bag deployment, forsending information to a remote location, a plurality of predeterminedevents may cause the selective transmittal of information to the remotelocation and different types of information is transmitted to the remotelocation. As a result, the remote location has greater access toinformation concerning the condition of the vehicle 12, 612. The greateraccess allows the remote location 10, 610 to better analyze thecondition of the vehicle 12, 612, to better inform the user of thesignificance of the vehicle condition and to better analyze trends in aplurality of vehicles. In sum, instead of only sending one message as aresult of one event, by using several predetermined events to triggerthe selective transmittal of several types of vehicle-relatedinformation, the overall condition of the vehicle may be betterassessed.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of a method and system forfacilitating communication between a vehicle and a remote location, itshould be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain advantagesof the within system have been achieved. It should also be appreciatedthat various modifications, adaptations, and alternative embodimentsthereof may be made within the scope and spirit of the presentinvention. For example, the use of broadcast communication networks hasbeen illustrated, but it should be apparent that many of the inventiveconcepts described above would be equally applicable to the use of othernon-broadcast communication networks. The invention is further definedby the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing vehicle-relatedinformation from a vehicle including a transmitter and a memory to aremote location, the method comprising: storing at least a portion of auser profile in a memory onboard the vehicle, the user profile includinga plurality of predetermined events and user preferences; monitoring acondition associated with a plurality of vehicle parts using one or morevehicle detection devices in communication with the plurality of vehicleparts; selecting at least one predetermined event from the plurality ofpredetermined events in the user profile as an identified predeterminedevent; comparing the monitored condition of the plurality of vehicleparts with an associated threshold level; determining whether themonitored condition of the plurality of vehicle parts is above or belowthe associated threshold level; selectively transmitting vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location when at least the identifiedpredetermined event occurs, wherein the identified predetermined eventis included in the user profile stored in the memory onboard thevehicle; wherein selectively transmitting vehicle-related information tothe remote location further comprises the steps of: accessing the userpreferences associated with the user profile stored in the memoryonboard the vehicle; determining whether the user preferences includeinformation associated with transmitting the vehicle-related informationto the remote location; and selectively transmitting the vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location based on the user preferences suchthat whether or not the vehicle-related information is transmitted tothe remote location is determined from the information included in theuser preferences; wherein the vehicle-related information containsinformation associated with the occurrence of the identifiedpredetermined event, including at least one of the monitored conditionand wherein the vehicle-related information is configured for receipt bythe remote location; and receiving analyzed information about theidentified predetermined event from the remote location.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the user preferences are configured to beupdated by a user within the vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinselectively transmitting the vehicle-related information based on theuser preferences further comprises automatically transmitting thevehicle-related information to the remote location upon the occurrenceof the identified predetermined event occurs when the user preferencesare set to automatically transmit the vehicle-related information. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein selectively transmitting thevehicle-related information based on the user preferences furthercomprises not transmitting the vehicle-related information to the remotelocation upon the occurrence of the identified predetermined eventoccurs when the user preferences are set to not transmit thevehicle-related information.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinselectively transmitting the vehicle-related information based on theuser preferences further comprises providing a prompt to a user of thevehicle when the identified predetermined event occurs, wherein theprompt comprises a request for permission to transmit thevehicle-related information to the remote location.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein selectively transmitting the vehicle-relatedinformation based on the user preferences further comprisesautomatically transmitting vehicle-related information associated withat least one of the plurality of predetermined events to the remotelocation, regardless of the settings included in the user preferences.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user preferences are configured topermit a user of the vehicle to select which of the plurality ofpredetermined events cause the selective transmittal of vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location; and wherein the user preferences arefurther configured to permit a user of the vehicle to select when thevehicle-related information is automatically transmitted to the remotelocation.
 8. A method for providing vehicle-related information from avehicle including a transmitter and a memory to a remote location, themethod comprising: storing at least a portion of a user profile in amemory onboard the vehicle, the user profile including a plurality ofpredetermined events and user preferences; monitoring a conditionassociated with a plurality of vehicle parts using one or more vehicledetection devices in communication with the plurality of vehicle parts;comparing the monitored condition of the plurality of vehicle parts withan associated threshold level; determining whether the monitoredcondition of the plurality of vehicle parts is above or below theassociated threshold level; selectively transmitting vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location when at least two predeterminedevents from the plurality of predetermined events occur, wherein theplurality of predetermined events include at least one of the following:a tire pressure below a predetermined tire pressure threshold level, apredetermined vehicle odometer reading, an oil level below apredetermined oil level threshold, and an engine temperature readingabove a predetermined engine threshold level; wherein selectivelytransmitting vehicle-related information to the remote location furthercomprises the steps of: accessing the user preferences associated withthe user profile stored in the memory onboard the vehicle; determiningwhether the user preferences include information associated withtransmitting the vehicle-related information to the remote location; andselectively transmitting the vehicle-related information to the remotelocation based on the user preferences such that whether or not thevehicle-related information is transmitted to the remote location isdetermined from the information included in the user preferences;wherein the vehicle-related information contains information associatedwith the occurrence of the at least two predetermined events, includingat least one of the monitored condition associated with each of the atleast two predetermined events and wherein the vehicle-relatedinformation is configured for receipt by the remote location; andreceiving analyzed information about a condition of the vehicle from theremote location based on the vehicle-related information associated withthe at least two predetermined events.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe vehicle-related information comprises at least one of the following:a maintenance code, a time stamp, a vehicle identification number,vehicle odometer information, vehicle oil level information, and vehicletire pressure information.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the stepof selectively transmitting vehicle-related information to the remotelocation further comprises: identifying a first predetermined eventassociated with a first monitored condition being above or below a firstthreshold level; identifying a second predetermined event associatedwith a second monitored condition being above or below a secondthreshold level; and selectively transmitting vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location when at least the first predeterminedevent and the second predetermined event occur.
 11. The method of claim8, wherein the step of selectively transmitting vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location further comprises transmitting thevehicle-related information from a vehicle information device at thevehicle to a mobile unit at the vehicle by way of an RF transceiver incommunication with the vehicle information device and the mobile unit,and transmitting the vehicle-related information from the mobile unit tothe remote location by way of a wireless communication network.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the RF transceiver is compliant with theBluetooth® wireless communication specification.
 13. The method of claim8, wherein the step of selectively transmitting vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location further comprises transmitting thevehicle-related information from a vehicle information device at thevehicle to a mobile unit embedded in the vehicle by way of a cable incommunication with the vehicle information device and the embeddedmobile unit, and transmitting the vehicle-related information from themobile unit to the remote location by way of a wireless communicationnetwork.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of receivinganalyzed information about a condition of the vehicle from the remotelocation further comprises receiving analyzed vehicle-relatedinformation from the remote location based on stored vehicle-relatedinformation transmitted to the remote location from a plurality ofvehicles.
 15. The method of claim 8, wherein the user preferences areconfigured to permit a user of the vehicle to select which of theplurality of predetermined events cause the selective transmittal ofvehicle-related information to the remote location; and wherein the userpreferences are further configured to permit a user of the vehicle toselect when the vehicle-related information is automatically transmittedto the remote location.
 16. A method for providing vehicle-relatedinformation from a vehicle including a transmitter and a memory to aremote location, the method comprising: storing at least a portion of auser profile in a memory onboard the vehicle, the user profile includinga plurality of predetermined events and user preferences; monitoring acondition associated with a plurality of vehicle parts using one or morevehicle detection devices in communication with the plurality of vehicleparts; selecting at least one predetermined event from the plurality ofpredetermined events in the user profile as an identified predeterminedevent; comparing the monitored condition of the plurality of vehicleparts with an associated threshold level; determining whether themonitored condition of the plurality of vehicle parts is above or belowthe associated threshold level; selectively transmitting vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location when at least the identifiedpredetermined event occurs, wherein the identified predetermined eventis included in the user profile stored in the memory onboard thevehicle; wherein selectively transmitting vehicle-related information tothe remote location further comprises the steps of: accessing the userpreferences associated with the user profile stored in the memoryonboard the vehicle; determining whether the user preferences includeinformation associated with transmitting the vehicle-related informationto the remote location; and selectively transmitting the vehicle-relatedinformation to the remote location based on the user preferences suchthat whether or not the vehicle-related information is transmitted tothe remote location is determined from the information included in theuser preferences; wherein the vehicle-related information containsinformation associated with the occurrence of the identifiedpredetermined event, including at least one of the monitored conditionand wherein the vehicle-related information is configured for receipt bythe remote location; and scheduling a service appointment with a serviceprovider in response to receiving analyzed information about theidentified predetermined event from the remote location that indicatesservice is needed.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step ofscheduling the service appointment further comprises transmitting to theremote location desired service appointment information; wherein thedesired service appointment information is included in the userpreferences; and wherein the remote location is configured to schedulethe service appointment with the service provider based on thetransmitted desired service appointment information.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the desired service appointment information comprisesat least one of a preferred service provider and a desired appointmenttime.
 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising storing the desiredservice appointment information to the memory of the vehicle.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising modifying the desired serviceappointment information by updating the user profile stored onboard thevehicle.